This summer, Unitarian House of Ottawa is celebrating its impact, growth and commitment to care over the last 40 years.
In 1984, the first residents stepped into the building. Forty years later, much has changed, but its mission has remained the same: to provide affordable living for seniors as a non-profit organization.
“The whole initiative was to create a place where everybody who lives here would be able to consider it their home. And so the most important thing about it is everybody does believe that this is their home,” said Jackie Holzman, former mayor of Ottawa.
Holzman worked in the Social Planning Council before getting elected as a city councillor three months prior to the building’s opening.
She said that at its inception during the 1970s, the First Unitarian Congregation planned for three buildings: a senior apartment building, retirement home, and nursing home.
“That’s why you see in our logo, three red lines around the house — because it was to be an apartment building, retirement home and a long-term care facility,” said Holzman.
It’s through the project that Holzman met John Rutherford, one of the founders of the home, who she soon married.
“I visited again in December 1984 with Rutherford — he took me on a tour, we had lunch with the residents and that was our first date,” she said. “We had been on the waiting list ever since, and we moved in two weeks before COVID-19.”
Holzman is now the president of the house’s board of governors, and said the community is very close-knit: “We know each other; we volunteer together; we help each other,” she said.
A place to call home
Another resident, Duncan Schuthe, has lived at Unitarian House for 18 years, after having moved in with his mother to a two-bedroom apartment in 2006. He later moved to the lower floor on his own.
“I never expected to give it up as soon as I had, but COVID-19 changed a lot of things,” he said. “But here, I can have special care if I need it.”
Surrounded by radio equipment and a Canadian Wireless Association Certificate on the wall, Schuthe said his passion for radio came from his father, who taught him Morse code.
He said the house is unique in this way, as they allowed him to operate his amateur radio station despite his worries about disturbing other people’s appliances or televisions.
“This place is home for me now,” he said. “It’s been a learning curve [and] it continues to be a learning curve … I’m only just now beginning to accept the fact that I’m getting older. When I moved in here it was a real struggle, and I’d say the majority of the residents are older than I am, but they too have interesting stories.”
Mélanie Lefebvre, executive director of Unitarian House, said she is proud of what the house has been able to offer Schuthe.
“He has stayed with us because of the support of the community [and] of his neighbours,” said Lefebvre. “We’re able to keep him in his home, in his environment where he’s comfortable, familiar and not necessarily send him off to a long-term care home just because that’s the next stage for care needs.”
Unique commitment
The executive director said the level of care, commitment and ownership from the residents is what makes the retirement community unique.
“We have an incredible volunteer base, and people who are just dedicated to making sure that their home is the best home in the city, but also that their neighbours are well taken care of,” she said.
Lefebvre said with its non-profit model, fundraisers allow the house to continue its services, whether through donations to their Van Fund, the Retirement Living Assistance Fund or more.
“We don’t receive any sort of financial support from any level of government,” she said. “[The Retirement Living Assistance Fund] is our commitment, within our available budget, to ensure that if you are requiring additional care services that you’re able to access those here as long as they’re delivered safely, even if you may not have the necessary funds to cover those.”
Going forward, Lefebvre said she hopes the home will continue to offer its services, alongside some renovations to the building.
“With a 40 year old building comes some major renovations, so I think we’re due for a little bit of a facelift … We’re starting to fundraise for that as well,” she said.
Forty-year anniversary celebrations kicked off May 31 with a barbeque at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa. Further fundraisers are set for June 20 at the Chateau Laurier Hotel, with others on Aug. 9 and Sept. 21 in the Unitarian House courtyard.
